The motto of the Society is the Latinactorum memores simul affectamus agenda, meaning "mindful of things that have taken place, at the same time we strive after things yet to be done". The choice of a griffinregardant for the logo was to symbolise vigilance and looking backward while going forward.

It publishes the International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology (formerly the Transactions of the Newcomen Society) and Newcomen Links, a quarterly newsletter. An online archive of previous Transactions is also available to members of the Society.

An American branch was established in 1923, but the Newcomen Society of the United States was entirely separate from its UK counterpart in 2007, when the chairman and trustees announced its closure.